While it is inevitable that siblings will have conflict, when your adopted teen is already struggling, it’s difficult to know how to resolve these situations. Should you let them occur to a certain extent? Are these conflicts harming their mental health? Parents often seek to find a strategic approach to keeping peace in the family while still attending to the delicate problems at hand, but that doesn’t always work. So, the question that remains for the parents of adopted troubled teens is, “How can I help my adopted child?”
Sibling rivalry and conflict is naturally occurring in families, and some of it can be healthy. Of course, this is not so much due to its occurrence, but of what comes afterwards: it provides a “teaching moment” for parents, and ultimately helps your teenagers to learn right from wrong, and to resolve issues more diplomatically later in life. It can also allow for a certain amount of expression and release. However, sibling battles are not always healthy, particularly if you have an adopted teen in your household who is troubled.
Acknowledging that some kind of conflict is a natural part of any family can help you try gain a little perspective and decide whether it’s within the scope of normal behavior. Unfortunately, teens living with their adoptive parents have additional personal challenges that non-adopted children don’t. Adopted troubled teens might not see things from the same perspective, and they may already be struggling with substance abuse problems, learning disabilities, or mental health issues – all of which could have been inherited from their biological parents. This usually means that your teen may not be thinking logically.
So, are the battles between the siblings harming your adopted teen’s mental health?
Depending on the types of conflicts occurring, there’s a good chance it might.
Many times, the only way to help an adopted troubled teens is to get some form of therapy or counseling. The challenges present when raising a struggling teen are hard to tackle alone, and frequent conflict with siblings may be putting your child at risk for deep depression or even suicide.
If you are having trouble with sibling battles and you fell your teenager’s mental health is at risk, it may be time to turn toward professional help. At Three Points Center, they can provide the specialized therapy and counseling your teen needs to lead a healthy, well-balanced life. As a center which was founded for the purpose of helping adopted families, they will not only help heal your adopted teen, but your entire family, too.
Three Points Center is a unique program that serves only adopted children and their families. We specialize in the many different aspects of emotional unrest that adopted children have been known to face, and the therapy and treatment needed to overcome those issues. Call us today at (435) 635-0636.